A Different Sort of Bond
Disclaimer: I do not own the Potterverse!
Author's Note: Thank you to all who have beta'd, reviewed, followed, or favorited. As always a million kudos to Oxnate, my wonderful beta reader.
Chapter 14
Harry woke to the sound of retching in the morning. 'Well,' he told himself, 'it has been awhile without problems so one was bound to show up.' He had woken in the shower again as he'd almost come to expect. Daphne was next to him of course but she wasn't the one retching. "Who is that?" he asked.
"I'm not sure which of them it is," Daphne replied. "She just burst in and started puking in the bowl. She's wearing a t shirt and boxers so it might be Neville but Trace did that a lot too. You can ask her when we get out." She grinned, "Unless you're too embarrassed to leave the shower until she's gone."
"I can ask from in here," Harry said. "You okay out there?"
"Ohhh," the person moaned. "Can you call the Unspeakable, Daph? I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Sure Trace," Daphne said. "Its probably morning sickness but I'll call him as soon as I get Harry to leave the shower."
"I hope you feel better soon, Tracey," Harry added.
"I'll be-" Tracey started but she started throwing up again.
"Is our shower over?" Harry asked.
"Well I was going to ask you help with my hair but that can wait a day," Daphne said. "So yes, we're done."
"Then let's go call Bode on the crystal," Harry said. "I doubt Tracey will be peeking in her condition."
Daphne smiled, "Good. I'm glad you are starting to loosen up, let's go." She shut of the water and dried them with her wand. Then she swept the curtain open and stepped out. They quickly left the bathroom and called Bode. He agreed to stop by later that day.
"Good news, hon," Daphne called out. "He's coming by today."
The only answer was more retching, and they could hear it from Neville's room too.
"I suppose it's only natural for him to be sick too," Harry said.
"I am glad Bode is coming but I can't stay here," Daphne said. "Let's dress and go to the great hall for breakfast."
"Sure, Daphne," Harry said. At breakfast they told Hermione and she said she would stop by later.
"Does this mean you aren't going into Hogsmeade today?" Ron asked.
"It does," Harry said. "We'll wait with them until after he's left. We got to go yesterday so it's not so bad. I hope you both have fun."
They went back to the room they shared with the other two and, hearing no sounds of retching once inside, they asked Winky to set out tea. "How are you feeling?" Harry called out. "We have some hot tea if you're feeling up to it."
Neville and Tracey came to sit in the common room and accepted a cup. "Sorry about barging in this morning Harry," Tracey said. "The other bathroom was occupied."
"No problem, Tracey," he replied. "I hope you're feeling better?"
She gave a small smile, "Yes, a bit."
Neville said, "It's probably morning sickness but I'm glad you called Bode."
"It was the least I could do, Neville," Daphne said. "Would you like to try some oatmeal?"
He sighed, "Maybe. I know we need more than tea."
The oatmeal stayed down but neither of them were happy that morning until Bode came. He gave them a box of vials, "Take one each morning as soon as you wake up and it should keep the nausea at bay. It is morning sickness like you thought. I've given you enough for a month and I'll be back for our regular checkup before it runs out but feel free to call me before then if something comes up." He turned to Harry and Daphne, "How are you two?"
"We're fine," Harry said.
"His eyesight has improved," Daphne said. "He also seems to have more energy and stamina since he lost the horcrux in his scar."
"Is that true, Harry?" Bode asked.
"Maybe, I don't know," Harry shrugged. "I should double check something with you though. We're going to participate in a Winter Solstice ritual. Will that affect the solution to this?" He lifted their joined hands.
"You should be separated by then so it shouldn't matter," Bode said. "Which is good, because the effects of divine or religious magic can't be predicted beforehand. It usually just provides a sense of wellbeing and possibly a small light show but that depends entirely on the whim of the entity being addressed."
"We've done the ritual every year and nothing bad has come of it yet," Daphne said in a hostile tone. "I think we are more likely to get a bad result if we try to skip it this year. The goddess has been good to us so far and helped us destroy that diadem so I'll trust in her." She shrugged and continued in a more normal tone of voice, "Of course we should be separated by then anyway."
"I didn't mean to insult you or your beliefs," Bode said. "I was just answering the question." He stood up, "I'll be going now. Please call me if anything else happens or you have more questions."
The potions worked and the nausea was under control after that for the pregnant ones. A week after Bode's visit it was time to be measured for the Basilisk armor and pick up the knives made from the fangs.
When the goblins asked them to strip for measuring Harry didn't even blink before performing the now well practiced switching spell on his and Daphne's clothes. Neville sighed first but also raised no complaints. The goblins made each of them a set of armor and everyone got a knife.
"Be careful with those knives," the goblin armorer said. "One scratch and you'll be poisoned."
They all nodded. They'd be very careful with their new knives. Even the two who knew they didn't need to fear the poison were worried they'd scratch someone by accident.
"I'll ask them to make another for you after you are male again, Nev," Harry said.
"Thanks, Harry," Neville said.
"Will these expand with us?" Tracey asked. "Two of us are pregnant."
The goblin shook his head. "Basilisk skin is nearly impervious to magic. No enchantments would work on it. Besides, a battlefield is no place for a pregnant woman. We made them loose for you to give you room to grow a bit yet. You should be able to wear them until the last month or so and again soon after giving birth."
"Thank you for everything," Harry said.
The next week was Halloween. Harry had grown to hate Halloween in the wizarding world as it always seemed to involve bad things so he'd planned to spend it in his room. Of course he'd planned that before and it hadn't worked. It didn't this time either.
"Come on Harry," Daphne said. "You've got to show up at the great hall for meals today."
"Why?" he asked plaintively. "We've skipped before and I hate this holiday."
"That's why," she said. "Everyone knows how you feel about it and if you don't show up they'll think it's because you're afraid. It's not true and I want to be sure that both our friends and our enemies know it's not true. So we are getting up and we are going to breakfast in the great hall."
Harry groaned but nodded, "Fine. Do I look okay?"
"You look fine," she said. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I won't let you leave looking like bad as long as we are a couple." And with that they left.
At breakfast nothing happened other than he got replies from the tutors he had contacted. He showed the replies to the others and Hermione wrote out a list of our final choices. After breakfast Harry and Daphne wrote to the goblins to arrange for payment and portkeys to … his thoughts trailed off. He hadn't picked a location yet!
"Daphne," he said. "We need to either visit or at least floo the goblins to ask about locations to do our training. We need to finalize it before we can go any further with our plans."
"True," she said. "I was wondering if you knew someplace already, that's why I haven't said anything. Let's sneak out rather than request permission though. It'll keep things quieter."
Harry agreed, "Okay, we should go after lunch. People will assume we were here all day if they see us at lunch and dinner. That should be enough time but if not we can go again the next day. I know a secret passage that goes from the grounds to the Shrieking shack on the edge of Hogsmeade. do you have a way to get from there to the bank or should we ask the goblins for a portkey?"
She blinked, "When did you find that? I thought you told me of all your fights with Riddle?"
"Oh, I did," Harry said. "This wasn't a fight with him. This was fighting dementors while time traveling. If you help me write the letter to the goblins then I'll tell you about it."
"I should hope I don't have to bribe you to tell me," Daphne said. "But if I do I'll find something else. My sister and I have portkeys that will take us home. Mine can be set to take either one or two in case Astoria loses hers. I could use that then we would just have to floo from my house to the bank."
"We should still write them and let them know what day we are coming and why," Harry said. "So I'll still want your help for that before I start my storytelling. Is your portkey usable more than once? Otherwise we'll still need another one."
"Of course!" she replied. "You think they'll want to pay for a new one each term? No, I've had the same one since Third Year when they changed it because Tori was starting her first year and they were worried she'd lose hers."
Harry smiled, "Alright! We send the letter today and sneak off tomorrow. Hopefully we'll find a Potter, Black, or even Greengrass property we can use. Then we can finalize the Summer training scenario. That reminds me, Tracey will be taking care of twins by then will she want to join us? And will she be willing to let Neville go with us if he wants to as I think he will?"
"We can ask her after we have a location," Daphne said. She was wondering if they should even bother with the rest of the school year considering the quality of private instruction they had lined up. She decided to wait until later to bring that up though. No need to push Harry about it but she would keep an eye out for a good time to mention it.
They wrote the letter and sent it off. The goblins replied the next morning that they would be ready. When they got to Gringotts they were lead to a conference room where they met the goblin in charge of the joint Potter/Black account and one of the goblins who worked on the Greengrass account.
After introductions had been made the Greengrass account goblin said, "I am only here to see to it that Miss Greengrass' financial interests are looked after. I won't interrupt or make suggestions unless I see something that will impact Greengrass finances."
Daphne said, "Thank you on behalf of my family, Hooknose."
Harry nodded, "That's fine by me as well." He looked at the other goblin, "Spell Dodger, did you have any trouble coming up with possibilities based on the requirements I sent you?"
"No, Mr. Potter," the goblin replied. "Your requirements were quite clear; normally deserted by both magical and non-magical folk, some place very difficult to get to by non-magical means and warded against magical means of entry, has to have facilities sufficient to host up to two dozen people for an amount of time that will at least be months and might be years but won't be decades, be accessible by portkey so that the hired tutors and any other staff will not be able to find their way back, and is either owned by you or Daphne or can be bought discreetly without it becoming known that you own it until you are back in magical Britain and finished with your training. Did you want to add any more at this time or shall I present our findings?"
"I have no more requirements," Harry said. He looked at Daphne, "Dear?"
"I have none to add at this time," Daphne said.
Spell Dodger nodded, "There are two that meet all your needs. One is a bit more remote than the other but has a much harsher climate."
"Let's hear about the more remote one first," said Harry. "We won't be going as tourists after all."
The goblin nodded, "It seems, Mr. Potter, that when your great grandfather married Dorothea Black; her family, while not especially fond of him, nonetheless felt required to give her a dowry. The records we have state that they wanted to simultaneously show their contempt for him and how highly they valued her so they did something they thought clever. They gave the happy couple an island and had it warded by the best people of the time, who were of course employees of ours. However it was in such an inhospitable place they felt sure no Potter would ever be able to get much use from it."
"Where was it?" Daphne asked. "The north pole?"
"No," Spell Dodger replied. "But you are not that far off. It's an island in Baffin Bay, Canada. It's hidden from all non-magical people and devices, warded so ferociously that even with your express invitation anyone without Potter blood in their veins will need a portkey made with a drop of your blood in order to arrive safely. It is so well defended that it would take hundreds of wizards to breach the wards because on it is an intersection of leylines and the wards are keyed into them for power."
"So I own it, it's secure, it's hard to get there, it's deserted, and it's accessible by portkey but only special ones," Harry said. "What about the other requirements?"
"Well you are in luck there," the goblin replied. "It may have been uninhabitable in your great grandfather's day but advances in environmental magic and magical construction mean that we can construct a domicile that will keep you as warm and safe from the elements as any here in Britain or anywhere else. Just give the word and we shall have it ready by the end of December. For a small additional fee we can stock it for you and furnish it as well."
"We'll keep that in mind," said Harry. "What's the next possibility?"
"The next choice is also a Potter possession," the goblin replied. "In fact I believe your parents honeymooned there. It is in the central Pacific and the nearest neighbors are the islands of Nauru and Kiribati. Both are about 186 miles away give or take. It's unplottable so no one can find it on a map. Even magical maps of the are don't show it. It's warded against apparition and portkey travel. The only way to go is by enchanted boat. Any magical sailing vessel owned by a Potter can be made to sail there by reciting a key phrase. As Potter account manager I know the phrase and I can tell you once we are alone." He looked at the other goblin as if to make clear what he meant by alone.
"And is that location in good repair and well stocked?" Harry asked.
"It has its own house elves so it should be in fine shape and supplied with food," the goblin replied. "Although it may not be stocked for as many people as you require; as of now it will hold as many people as you stated. The island is self sufficient for staples such as meat, dairy, and vegetables for that number as well but you would need to add any extras or luxuries you wanted to have available."
"Do I own any magical sailing vessels?" Harry asked. He had never thought to enquire before.
"You have two," came the reply. "The Gauguin has been in the Potter family for generations but was renamed by your grandfather who rather liked the work of the painter Paul Gauguin. The second was once owned by the Black family but after you consolidated the two houses it became a Potter vessel as well and eligible for this purpose. It's named 'The Jolly Roger'. Both are moored in the magical section of the London docks."
"Is the tropical island as well warded as the frigid one?" Harry asked.
"No, it isn't," the goblin replied. "It's well enough protected for any normal use but not nearly as unassailable as the Baffin Bay location."
Harry nodded, "We'll discuss it and get back to you."
The goblin nodded, "We can finalize your plans at that time."
Both goblins stood, gave the couple a nod, and left the room. A different goblin came in to show them back to the entrance.